On Dec. 1, Festival Napa Valley held its first of three events in a new film-focused series called “Music Makes the Movie” at the Cameo Cinema in St. Helena. The show included a performance by the Classical Revolution Trio and a screening of the French film Les Musiciens (The Musicians, 2025), both of which delighted the almost-full house.
Classical Revolution Trio is composed of Latin Grammy-nominee bassist Sascha Jacobsen, two-time Grammy Award-winner and jazz violinist Evan Price, and violist Charith Premawardhana, who is the founder of Classical Revolution.
The group warmly and professionally executed a variety of works. They started with “Divertimento in Bb No. 8 for String Trio” by Joseph Haydn, then proceeded to the swing standard “Exactly Like You” by Jimmy McHugh. Two tangos followed: “Flor de Lino, Vals Criollo” by Hector Stamponi and “La Puñalada, Gran Milonga Tangueada” by Pintin Castellanos, both arranged by Jacobsen. The trio concluded with “Blues for Toussaint,” composed by Jacobsen.
After the musicians left the stage, the sound of crunching popcorn preceded Les Musiciens comedy drama about an unlikely string quartet. The movie explained what brought the four star players together. This movie relays much of the group’s evolution through a classical soundtrack. An exception was “My Girl,” Russian composer and jazz violinist Daniel Garlitsky’s take on Loretta Lynn’s 2016 country song “In the Pines.”
“There’s definitely an underlying theme of unity and collaboration in Les Musiciens,” said Lissa Gibbs, vice president of education and community for Festival Napa Valley. “The live performance by Classical Revolution Trio highlights those thematic elements in real time and makes the evening extra special.”
Festival Napa Valley is best known for its outdoor summer festival and year-round Olivia Decker Power of Music series, with events that occur throughout the Bay Area. The organization also presents free educational programs in schools, libraries, and hospitals.
Festival Napa Valley and Cameo Cinema have been partners in offering single film screenings for the last 15 years. This is the first formal multi-date film screening series that the two entities have organized. Reasons for the collaboration include the two organizations’ shared nonprofit missions and Cameo Cinema's intimate setting, accessible location, and 6K Barco Cinema Laser projector and Dolby Atmos sound system.
“Cameo Cinema is a 115-year-old restored art house cinema on Main Street in St. Helena,” said Emma Steele, director of special programs and events for Cameo Cinema. “It had been a place for vaudeville acts in the past, but now it’s one of the town’s modern treasures. I expect this event helped many people discover the theater.”
The next two events in the “Music Makes the Movie” series will also be held at Cameo Cinema. These are “Music Unites the World,” a screening of music-inspired short films from the music-oriented nonprofit Playing For Change, on Jan. 25, and a screening of the 1960 cult classic Little Shop of Horrors, accompanied by a live performance of the score by the San Francisco Grand Feature Film Orchestra, on Feb. 9.
“We want people to experience classical music and international cinema film in ways that are not stuffy,” Gibbs said. “These events are extremely accessible for everyone.”
Steele and Gibbs added that they hope “Music Makes the Movie” events will spark meaningful conversations among members of the community. This was certainly visible at the first event: Audience members poured out of the theater after the show, excitedly discussing the concert and the movie with friends both new and old.
